Bixi Bikes comes to Toronto

BIXI Toronto launched May 3rd with 1000 bikes in over 80 locations. They can currently only be found within the downtown core (from Bathurst east to Jarvis and Queens Quay north to Bloor) but Bixi is hoping to expand. If you live and/or work in the downtown area Bixi might be for you, especially when it’s only $95/year for a well tuned bike whenever you need it. If you’re only in Toronto visiting BIXI has both day rates ($5/day) and 3-day rates ($12). I was hoping to use BIXI when I go to one of my favourite restaurants this week, Pizza Libretto. But there are no BIXI stations near by and it could be up to an extra $12+ if I don’t return the bike within 90 mins!

Toronto Bike lanes

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford recently announced that he is removing the bike lanes on Jarvis Street. Traffic engineers at the city of Toronto claim that commuters are faced with much longer commuting times and only 600 cyclists are using the Jarvis Street Bike lanes. This may have been more digestible to city cyclists if Ford had offered up some alternative. There is a cycling culture in downtown Toronto and Ford could have proactively offered up another street for bike lanes. Cyclists could instead be offered north routes on one-way Bleecker Street and southbound access on another adjacent route to Jarvis.

For an urban, supposedly active city Toronto’s bike lanes are disconnected, random and usually dangerous to say the least. Biking Toronto has a great website where cyclists can interact and they offer up a map of the existing bike lanes. I try and ride my bike in the city, but it’s usually not on bike lanes (mostly because there aren’t many in the area I live in). Driver behaviours vary day to day; you never know when someone is going to try and cut it close. My suggestions for safe city riding:

1. Wear a helmet (duh!)
2. Ride about 0.5 to a full meter from the curb or parked cars. As a cyclist you have the right to be in the right hand lane (as a slower moving vehicle). If you leave yourself some ‘wiggle’ room by the curb you can save yourself from falling over. It also indicates to drivers to move almost over into the left hand lane to get around you.
3. Do NOT ride on the sidewalk (it’s for pedestrians)
4. Wear bright colours. The more visible you are, the more likely other cars and cyclists will see you.
5. Carry ID, a mobile phone and have money for a cab.

The Sidewalks are for Pedestrians

Suggestion #3 is to not ride on the sidewalk. One it is illegal. And two it frightens pedestrians.

One of my favourite ways to stay active and healthy is to run track workouts down at Varsity Stadium with the University of Toronto. For my warm-up and cool-down I usually go and adventure through Queens Park and campus, seeing old buildings I used to attend classes in and getting my legs ready for something blisteringly fast (well fast for old lady legs!). Recently my fear factor has gone up significantly; there are so many cyclists jumping on and off sidewalks or just steadily riding on sidewalks. I am very afraid that one of them is going to plow into me one day. While it wouldn’t be as devastating as being hit by a car, I think the damage could still be quite significant.

Cycling friends please leave the sidewalks to those of walking and running.

With summer here I’m going to try and get in as much time on my bike as possible. I may even start waking up and ridiculously early hours just to get in a long road ride before I go to work. My goal is try and ride my bike to work once my competitive track season is over, but we’ll see given how dangerous it may be.

Enjoy your summer.  Why not enjoy your summer on your bike?

The book is divided into 5 sections: Gaia’s tools, One in Ten Thousand, The Science of Prediction, People in Greenhouses and The Solution. Personally, sections 3, The Science of Prediction, and 5, The Solution, were my favourite. Unless you’re a science or climate geek (like myself) the book can seem a little dry, but it is possible to read a section and put it down while you entertain yourself with something a little lighter.

I read the 2005 edition and from what I can tell online the book has not been updated. That’s not to say it’s out of date; the information presented is still relevant. I recommend this book to the climate enthusiast and the climate rookie; there is something for everybody in it.

Different government agencies are developing individual green manuals for their jurisdictions, since each jurisdiction faces unique climate and construction constraints. These manuals are much like the LEED manual; the points system for constructing sustainable buildings. Buildings are a simpler than highways, while the foundation may change the general construction as the building goes up remains the same. It’s why each road jurisdiction necessitates its own individual manual.

What can we expect on the greener roads?

• Reduced raw material: recycled pavements, long life pavements, life cycle assessments of the road structure, etc
• Improved Human Health and Safety: intelligent transportation systems, pedestrian and cycle friendly road and highway intersections, etc
• Water: reduced water use during construction, proper storm water management, etc
• Optimized land  and habitat use: crossings for wildlife, minimize the width of roads and clear zones, protect streams and wetlands, etc

Greener roads will continue to evolve. Our traditional way of road construction cannot continue, not just due to the environmental hazards, but the cost to build and maintain our current infrastructure is not possible.

Here are some of the highlights:

LEED for Homes

Last year I achieved the LEED AP accreditation, just before the new system of rating was implemented. Now LEED has introduced new rating systems for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, Core and Shell, Existing Buildings, Neighbourhood Development and Homes. Both Derek Satnik and Richard Vermeulen gave presentations the Thursday morning on how to design homes and neighbourhoods to be sustainable and more livable. They argued if you looked at it from both a bottom line and a life cycle cost perspective that you could build a home for none to very little additional cost.

Although it is argued that a LEED home only saves about 15% of the energy of a traditional home, it does get you thinking about how to do things with a minimal foot print. Ideally we begin to design and construct homes that are 50% more efficient, off the grid, and with recycled or renewable materials. Satnik discussed the other environmental standards including Energy Star, EnerGuide,  BREEAM and many, many others. While he said none of these is perfect it does help to minimize the impact of homes.

And think how good would it feel to not have to pay your hyrdo or water bills ever again…

Furniture

Made in Canada by Canadian designers with Canadian materials (mostly), meet Nienkamper. Their website seems to be down this morning but I was really impressed with the quality of the furniture at the store. I’m currently trying to figure out if I can order a coffee table from them without having to put a commercial order in.

Fatboy also peaked my interest. They have unique lounging chairs and blocks for the home. I think I’ll have to get one of their hammocks for reading and relaxing next summer!

While there were many textiles that were intriguing, they were only available for commercial purchase. While I’m interested in purchasing eco-friendly textiles I do not need to outfit a commercial space; I only need enough for a small 1-bdrm space.

I was also interested in the green roof and gardening materials. I attended a presentation on Thursday morning regarding gardens, but it was more about the International Garden Festival than about how we can use vegetation to minimize our carbon footprint.

I will be reluctant to attend the Green Building Festival next year. Although the presentations I attended were well done, I was not impressed with the exposition this year. The Direct Energy Centre was an improvement in venue location from when I attended two years ago out by the airport. It would be good to see industry getting together with the universities to brain storm both large and small solutions to our sustainability conundrum.

Blue Moutain Resort is unique in that it has a department solely dedicated to preserving the environment. With a dedicated staff their goal is to

“to be recognized as a leader among four-season resort destinations in Canada for our exceptional commitment to the environment in which we live, work and play and for continually striving to achieve resort-wide sustainability.”

How are they doing this?

• Providing reusable dishes and cutlery in lodges, which elimates 11,400 polystyrene containers!
• Diverting organic waste from landfills to the industrial composting program – in 2007 500 tonnes were diverted
• Extensive recycling program – in 2007 300 tonnes of materials were diverted from landfills.
• The Co-Generation Project – a combined heat and power system that recovers thermal energy to heat water at the Blue Mountain Inn
• Replaced old light bulbs with new compact fluorescents or LEDs – reducing consumption by 1,130,000 kWh annually

Blue Mountain employs several other conversational and innovative environmental initiatives. As a member of the Sustainable Slopes Initiative of the National Ski Areas Association. As well they are contributors to the environmental corner of the Ontario Snow Resort Associate.

Skiing is a passion of mine, I believe it promotes a healthy lifestyle, brings people together and promotes an awareness of our environment. Skiing or riding promotes the third cog, the social element, in the triple bottom line perspective. I think the best snow resorts are the ones that can provide meaningful employment to the community and help to preserve our environment.

Thanks to @Greenopolis yesterday for posting a great list on their to 10 things you can do to be more green this year. Here were Greenopolis’ suggestions:

1. Re-think Re-gifting: have two of something now? Don’t really need the gift? Just be sensitive to whom you re-gift.
2. Buy Less: It’s the though that counts! Buy something meaningful, something useful. Even better make a gift for someone. My favourite gift to give is a mason jar filled with all the dry ingredients for cookies. Add a message around it about how much butter, egg, etc to add as well as baking instructions.
3. Shop Together: The carpooling part saves on emissions but it’s so much more fun to shop with friends too
4. Go the ‘Secret Santa’ Route: Instead of buying each family member a gift, put a maximum on gift amounts and have family members draw names from a hat. (if that’s not possible put one person in charge and have them email each person who their buying for)
5. Keep it Local: go to local craft shows and marketplaces (I plan to go to the St. Lawrence Market this weekend for some unique gifts)
6. Give it to others: donate old toys, books and clothes to charity. Or contact your local shelter about donating to their holiday feast. The Fred Victor Centre in Toronto opens it’s doors to those in need thru the holidays. You can purchase ‘units of turkey’ to help out those in need
7. Lower your impact: Change all your lights to LEDs (if you haven’t already done so). And turn out all the holiday lights as you go to bed (OK maybe leave them on for the 24th, Santa needs to know how to find your tree and stockings!)
8. Choose a live tree: Surprisingly real trees are more sustainable than plastic ones,, most of the research believes that you’ll keep your plastic tree forever, but most people throw theirs away once it’s tattered. Better yet buy a potted tree, it will last you for years.
9. Make your own cards: Choose eco friendly paper, buy seed-cards that can be planted in the spring or send an e-card.
10. Green your gift wrap: old news papers and brown bags make great wrapping paper. One of my friends actually puts her stuff in boxes/bins for everyone and covers them with a sheet with each child’s name on a card.

There are so many more things that we can do to make it a ‘greener’ holiday. Here are some that I think we can also do:

1. Green you food: Try and get local, organic turkey and vegetables. Many butchers will order in exactly what you’re looking for. And with all the great markets out there you’re bound to find many organic vegetables. If you can’t go local, organic try and go local before you go organic, it’s usually a smaller footprint (The best local butcher shops in Toronto can be found here)
2. Ask for things you need: Sure new frivolous things are great, but what do you really need this year?
3. Gingerbread Decorations: Not only can you make whatever type of decoration you want, in whatever colours you want, they are also delicious!
4. Think Minimalist: Isn’t that the style these days? You’ll see just how great your house can look with very few decorations
5. Practice the 3R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, compost as much as you can and stick to your daily green habits

According to the 2009 Quality of Life Index that includes 194 countries Canada ranks 19th. The ranking is based on weighted factors that includes cost of living, leisure and culture, the economy, the environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, risk & safety and climate. A full list of all the countries can be found here, including how they categories are weighted and calculated.

As for where we will be in 2010? It’s unknown right now but it will likely be falling even further behind. It’s no secret that Canada is starting to lag, we are becoming known as the country of polite polluters.

Canada the only country that agreed to the Kyoto Protocol backs away from the ratification

The Kyoto Protocol asked for all nations involved to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by a certain percentage below 1990 levels by 2012. Canada agreed to cut emissions by 6% below 1990 levels, formally ratified the Kyoto Accord at the end of 2002 and in 2006 the Canadian government announced it was abandoning the Kyoto targets. Even wore Canada is currently 26% above 1990 emission levels.

Why are we backing away from the Kyoto protocol? Why can’t we meet our environmental targets? According to George Monbiot it is because of all the potential economic benefits of exploiting the oil of the Alberta Tar Sands. But as Monbiot explains it’s not really oil and that’s why it might be so environmentally destructive. In his article The Urgent Threat to World Peace is … Canada, Manbiot sums up the tar sands …

“It’s actually a filthy mixture of bitumen, sand, heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals… To extract oil from this mess, it needs to be heated and washed. Three barrels of water are used to process one barrel of oil. The contaminated water is held in vast tailing ponds, some of which are so toxic that the tar companies employ people to scoop dead birds off the surface(10). Most are unlined. They leak organic poisons, arsenic and mercury into the rivers… Refining tar sands requires two to three times as much energy as refining crude oil. The companies exploiting them burn enough natural gas to heat six million homes”

Canada might become known as a corrupt petrostate. According to Environmental|Defence Canada has The Most Destructive Project on Earth, the Alberta Tar Sands. The open-pit mines needed to extract the tar sands will be the size of the UK; our pristine landscape will be destroyed and that not directly destroyed by the open-pit mines will be indirectly ruined by all the leaching chemicals.

Could Canada to be expelled from the Commonwealth?

Copenhagen, a place where the commonwealth leaders have congregated to find common ground for the future of the global environment. As Kyoto is about to expire the goal is to have a legally binding agreement in place. But Canada will only participate if meets our economic objectives.

Yesterday I wrote about the triple bottom line accounting principle, people, planet, profit. Harger is regressing, he’s moving away from people and planet and purely exploiting profit. As Europe invests in green infrastructure Canada is investing in ‘dirty’ infrastructure. Globally, Harper and our Federal government our tarnishing our Canadian image.

Worse still the leaders of the Commonwealth are growing frustrated. As they implement policies and laws to meet ambitious emissions goals, Canada is seriously lagging behind. Other leaders of the Commonwealth are commenting on the divide between Harper and the other leaders.

Harper is waiting, waiting until his big brother to south takes a stand and tables proposals. According to Harper we are too connected to the US to table any proposals.

Our environmental and economic future lie in the hands of Steven Harper. If he chooses to ignore the ambitious goals being tabled in Copenhagen and solely looks out for the oil interests in Canada, than Canada will lose much of it’s good-faith with global leaders. Worse if Harper permits the complete extraction of the Tar Sands, Canada will be labeled as one of the world’s worst polluters; we’ll be chastised by the rest of the world.

I couldn’t help but notice all the things we could have done to reduce our footprint on the earth.

1. Ask for water and juice in pitchers – Instead of all those little plastic bottles ask for glasses and pitchers of juice and water. You almost always get real coffee cups, why can’t they give you real glasses too?
2. Real plates – Instead of paper, or worse plastic, ask for real plates. Even offer to have a service come in, drop them off and pick up the dirty ones. If that is not an option there are bamboo and other compostable plates.
3. Re-use name tags: How many name tags do you have that are white, have your name, where you work and are in a regular, white plastic envelope? And ok if you use an old name tag it makes it look a little less professional but we could all use a little less plastic.
4. Instead of handing out folders with handouts email all participants PDF versions of the handouts. Some people may choose to print them but at least you’ll be reducing the overall number of pages printed.

What else can you do to reduce the impact?

I’m hoping next year to be on the executive committee again next year and try to implement some of these tactics.

Reading the LEED manual really gets you thinking out all the small things one can do to have a more energy efficient home and office. Simple things like living or working near a grocery store and restaurants. Changing old lightbulbs to more energy conscious ones. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Bringing your own coffee mug instead of the non-recyclable, non-compostable cafeteria/Starbucks one.

The LEED manual also showed me that it is not enough. Have 5% recycled material. Reduce water consumption by 20%. Use pervious materials on 50%. What? That’s it? At a conference about a year ago a someone said that being sustainable isn’t enough, that we need to regenerative; meaning our buildings have to be carbon-neutral or better yet carbon-negative (meaning that they absorb more carbon than they produce).

LEED Canada is changing in the beginning of 2010 and I believe that the US is already there. More stringent, real changes should be part of the manuals; hopefully we are moving toward sustainable, regenerative buildings.

This back to school stuff got me thinking about simple ‘greening’ initiatives parents and students can do. Here they are (in no particular order):

1. Walk or Ride to School: Most Toronto students attend public schools that are walking or riding distance. Instead of turning on the car, walk or ride with your child to school. Not only is this a ‘green’ thing but it also falls under the Ontario mandate to increase active transportation.
2. Pack a Litterless Lunch: most of the students are learning about preserving our environment. It is no longer a ‘faux paux’ to bring your lunch in reusable containers. Plus I think they come with some funky characters these days.
3. Refillable Water Bottles: Juice is great, but too much juice is no good. It’s filled with sugar, which means a lot of extra calories. I won’t even go near soft drinks, regular or diet/light. Again like those cool looking containers water bottles also come with a wide variety of designs. McDonald’s is even promoting their Olympic ones right now. Encourage your kids to drink water
4. Extra-curricular activities: I preferred these to school any day and they may have been the reason I went to school. From visual and dramatic arts, to sports, to academic, including student council encourage your children to get involved both inside and outside their school.
5. Limit TV watching: when I was smaller I was limited to 30 minutes of TV per night. And most nights I didn’t even need that 30 minutes, mind you I was an ‘outdoorsy’ kid – tobogganing, cycling, tag, hide and seek, etc.
6. Limit Computer Time: Computers seem to be as bad, maybe worse, than TV. We are drawn into them. Again limit the time your child has with the computer and encourage them to do something more stimulating.
7. Encourage Part-time jobs: Yes, this is limited to older children. I worked in retail when I was in high school and it taught me a lot about what I wanted to do and also introduced me to a broad spectrum of people I may not have otherwise met. Plus as a shop-a-holic at times the discounts were fantastic! I also encourage teaching a sport/activity (i.e. swimming, skiing, tennis, baseball – the rewards from teaching children are … indescribable)
8. Have your children help with dinner: simple activities like tearing lettuce for a salad or setting the table encourages good eating habits and family time.
9. Daily Cardiovascular Activity: CBC has a very interesting documentary, Brain Gains, on the benefits of 20 minutes of daily cardio every day. It is based on the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. The results – academically the students scored higher after doing 20 minutes of cardio vascular exercise each day.
10. Lots of hugs: They don’t output any carbon and they teach us the importance of dependence and interdependence.